Research Articles: All posts tagged 'artaxerxes'

The Battle of Thermopylae is one of the most heroic battles in the annals of military history. Three hundred Spartan soldiers, lead by their king Leonidas, engaged in a mission of “suicidal self-sacrifice” by holding off the mighty Persian army for three days at the pass at Thermopylae which was no more than 20 yards wide. This battle has been made into a Hollywood movie entitled, simply, “300” (2006).

The recent surprise success of the movie 300 and the amount of controversy it engendered once again reminds us of the power of movie-making and history and its impact on modern conceptions of national, ethnic and religious identity. How accurate is Hollywood's retelling of one of the most famous battles of antiquity?